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Padang Padang Beach Bali

Padang Padang Beach was my favorite location in Bali. It offered a little bit of everything that could be found on the island and then some. It is located between Bingim and Uluwatu on the ring road of the Buki Peninsula. You will know you are there when you see TONS of scooters parked on the bridge just after a few hotel signs.

Pictured above: fueling the scooter for the day.

Pictured below: The view from the scooter parking area on top of the bridge.

There are calm water pools inside the reef breaks great for snorkeling and just cooling off.

At low tide, the cliffs provide access to secret cove beaches in the eroded rocks.

There are also monkeys that frequent the beach. Like Uluwatu, be careful, they like to steal stuff.

Pictured below is are the steps carved into the cliff that leads up to the parking area. There are probably 500 steps so you don’t want to forget anything at the top 🙂

The roads in the area are not in the best of shape. There was quite a bit of construction during our visit and we ended up with a nail in the tire. I thought we were going to be out a lot of money but the tire repair man only charged us $.50 (Fifty Cents!) for the repair. I gave him nearly everything in my wallet out of appreciation for helping us in our time of need though.

Just behind me was the lady who cooks, in my opinion, the best chicken fried rice in all of Bali. It was a bit sweet and spicy and had great flavor. Apparently, according to another visitor, you don’t want to watch them cook it though. There are a LOT of flies and sanitation isn’t their thing. Either way…I’m still here, never got sick and it tasted great.

On my last day at Padang Padang a wave swept my flip-flop right off my foot. I saw it wash away and followed it briefly but it was soon gone to wherever Wilson the volley ball from Castaway went.

Bye Flip-flop…I miss you already 🙁

Surfing Padang Padang wasn’t as bad as Uluwatu. On a six-foot day I rented a board and had some fun. Be careful of the reef though. I was lured out behind the main left hand break. I caught a wave before a big set came in. Trying to duck the first wave I let the board go behind me and ducked under. When doing this, I realized the water was only waist deep over a very sharp coral reef. This was mid tide too. I could only imagine how shallow it was during low tide. After that, I chose to ride the shoulder with the newbies.

Great beach and great memories here. I highly recommend this beach to anyone who visits the area. There are vendors selling inexpensive stuff, lifeguards, surfboard rentals, food vendors, monkeys, calm water, great surf…and just about anything else you could want!